Thought processes and conversations started under the tilted cap of Tropicana Field. Someday everyone will know the Rays play in St. Petersburg, Florida, not TAMPA, or the fictitious city of TAMPA BAY.

Who Knew “The Longo” Would Endure

What is it about our society and crazes. Every time I turn around it seems there is a new and hip movement or direction being thrust upon us to either decide if we want to be hip or square. When we were young it was having the right tin lunch box and thermos ( mine was Gilligan’s Island) to today doing a one motion pose that is sweeping the baseball nation.

Yes, I’m talking about the phenom we know in Tampa Bay as “The Longo”. I got a chuckle recently from a fellow Rays blogger (Corky Gaines) who said “ it was like Tebowing, but had less religiously”. We have developed into a social animal that mimics, interprets and constantly repeats motions and things like human parrots. But that is not always a bad thing.

How much you want to bet there will be a between innings contest tonight to see who does the best “Longo” instead of dancing against the Rays mascot Raymond. I could easily see a group, an individual or maybe even an entire seating section down the Trop’s First Base region rising to their feet, thrust their arms and fingers at a 58 degree angle and do the addicting maneuver. Heck, who needs the Chik Filet cows tonight, give those 100’s of
Rays fan a free chicken sandwich for doing the latest visual craze since…..doing the Tebow.

I like doing “The Longo”, heck if I would have known a simple motion of thrusting my arms and fingers to the heavens would have done such for my “cool” stature, I would have done it in the late 70’s. I mean I did do a rendition of former Red Sox Carlton Fisk where I used my body to groove a ball fair, but it went unnoticed and was viewed by my baseball coach more as showboating than showing an air of respect to a baseball player.

How our society has evolved that we can embrace, simulate and take pride in an emotional reaction to a life and game altering moment like Longo’s blast to bring the Rays to the 2011 October party. If you really watch Longo on that play I truly expected him to turn towards the Rays dugout on the way to first and do that famous “Crash “ Davis move of pulling his hands to his face in form a moment of disbelief as the dugout does the Wave. But instead we have an emotionally charged moment as the ball clears the outfield yellow line then pandemonium not only breaks out in St. Petersburg, but I think a few hearts wept in New York City.

Not since KC and the Sunshine Band did their patented “shake your booty” move has Florida embraced a physical move like this. I have seen photos roll in from a class full of kids doing “The Longo”, to High School baseball teams in the clubhouse, numerous members of the Rays Republic doing it all around this community, to a simple figurine and glorious T-shirt so many fans will adorn and treasure tonight.

So many great moments have been witnessed under the tilted cap of Tropicana Field. Wade Bogg’s 3,000th hit, the first MLB instant replay and enough walk-off magical moments to make a 30-minute tutorial on how to do it right. But tonight we all get to not only honor, but relieve again and again via the Trop’s Jumbotron a moment our kid’s will discuss with their grandkids, and possibly re-enacting “the Longo” again 40 years from now.

So tonight we honor that special moment, that gesture that will live forever in not only Rays lore, but baseball’s magical moments as the Game 162 blast by Evan Longoria will possibly be this generation’s “Robby Thompson’s Shot Heard Around the World”.

As the gates of the Trop open, I wonder how many the entering fans will thrust their fingers and arms into the cooled Trop air, tilt a little for aerodynamic stability and take off again just like Longoria as he rounded First Base last October. Who knows, if you do the new cool and hip thing in Tampa Bay today you might even find yourself thrusting skyward revisiting the moment in your own glory on the Trop Jumbotron. That not only would be impressive, but I bet Longo would be mimicking you in the dugout….Now that would be a cool move.

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